The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen lists the first two definitions of “dharma” as: 1. The cosmic law, the “great norm” underlying our world; above all, the law of karmically determined rebirth. And, 2. The teaching of the — Buddha, who recognized and formulated this “law”; thus the teaching that expresses the universal truth.
Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha, the dharma and the sangha, the teacher, the teachings and the community of companions on Earth. The dharma is the teaching—both received and given—by each individual practitioner in every second of every day in the normal actions, thoughts and intentions of daily life.
It is important to keep in mind that the dharma, the teaching, is continuously both given and taken as we are all students and teachers at the same time, all the time. It is a mistake to become too attached to either role. This point, in my view, deserves more consideration, discussion and contemplation than it generally receives.
The first definition mentioned above includes “karmically determined rebirth.” That is, the circumstances of our lives, according to the dharma, are a result of karma, cause and effect. How we were in the past (not just past lives) determines how and where we are in the present. How and where we are in the present and what we have learned from the past and act upon in the present determines the future. That’s the dharma.
There is neither truth nor falsehood to the dharma. The dharma is just our everyday, normal lives, and by living within the dharma, “…the teaching that expresses the universal truth,” we are able to find out for ourselves what is true and what is false. That is, the cosmic law is not a set of rules which we follow, but, rather, the never ending dynamics and lessons of each of our lives as lived each second of every day. Padmasambhava expressed the dharma this way: “If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.”
That’s the dharma.
Look carefully.
No one else and no teaching can tell you what is true and what is false. If a teacher or a teaching indicates that it is good practice to develop a regular practice of meditation every day, that is, in my view, good advice. But the only way you can determine whether this is true for you is to practice and to remain open to what is. Is the practice true for you or not? Only you can discover for yourself what is true and what is false. All of us who are practicing are eager to learn, eager to hear and follow the teachings, eager to follow the path, eager to know what is true and what is false, eager to be certain so that we can relax and, you know, BE CERTAIN. (Eagerly certain?) But the dharma doesn’t tell us what is true and what is false. That is something we must each do for ourselves in our own lives.
The only certainty is that the circumstance of our present life, each action, thought, breath and intention of that life is the dharma. As such, it is the means, the vehicle, the alarm clock that can wake us up. Every human, not only those who practice Buddhism, is an integral part of the great norm underlying our world and affects that world with every thought, action and intention.
There is a Zen admonition to live each moment with the awareness of a warrior in the night behind enemy lines, and, for that warrior, that is the dharma. Or, as Dogen said, “If you can’t find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?”